Nov. 15, 2008

Box Score

Burlington, Vt. - Darryl Monroe made a pair of free throws with 0.7 remaining on the clock in overtime as the George Mason men's basketball team won its season opener in overtime at Vermont, beating the Catamounts, 80-79. It gave Mason its sixth-straight season-opening win, setting a team record. Monroe, who missed all of last season with an injury, returned to the lineup and had the third double-double of his career He set career highs with 19 points and 17 rebounds. A pair of freshmen played huge roles for the Patriots off the bench as Ryan Pearson had 13 points and six rebounds while Andre Cornelius had nine points and five assists. Cam Long had 16 points while John Vaughan had 12. Marqus Blakeley had 24 for Vermont to lead all scorers.

Mason led for the majority of the second half but they never were able to get a run to push the lead to double digits. Vermont changed that with about seven minutes to go in regulation, going ahead 64-61 with just under five to play. Mason was able to retake the lead, mainly through free throws before Blakely scored with 2:02 to tie the game at 70-70. Neither team capitalized on its chance down the stretch sending the game to overtime.

In overtime, Vermont hit a 3-pointer in the opening minute but Mason rallied back to take the lead. It remained a back-and-forth game until Mike Trimboli's basket with 1:12 to go put the Catamounts ahead 79-78. After Dre Smith missed a 3-pointer for Mason, Vermont got the rebound when the ball went out of bounds. But the Catamounts couldn't inbound the ball and Mason was able to play for a final shot. On the play, Smith missed a 3-pointer and Monroe grabbed the rebound. He missed the putback but grabbed his own rebound and was fouled, setting up the dramatic ending.

The Mason offense started the game slowly, but thankfully, the defense did not. The Patriots allowed just 14 points in the game's first nine minutes but scored just 10 in that span. Vermont had a chance to take control of the game when, ahead 16-12, it went on an 8-2 run to build a double-digit lead with seven minutes to go in the half. But Mason closed the frame strong, outscoring Vermont 24-13 over the final 6:52.

Pearson's putback jam was followed by a turnover and a Cam Long basket on the fastbreak. Vaughan made a pair of buckets near the basket and Cornelius scored on a layup to make it 28-24. After a Monroe basket to pull Mason to within four minutes to play, it was the Patriots' young guns that put Mason ahead at the break.

Ike Tate hit a deep 3-pointer to tie the game and Pearson and Cornelius combined for seven points to make it a 37-36 Vermont lead with less than 30 seconds to play. Mason got the half's final possession on a jump ball and Tate hit a 20-footer to make it 38-37. It was Mason's lone lead of the half. At the break, Mason had a 16-13 rebounding lead while Vermont had a 6-3 lead in free throws.

The Patriots return to the court on Monday when they play their home opener against Brown at 7 p.m. The team urges Mason Nation fans to be a part of the Gold Rush at every game! *Be Bold. Wear Gold *